Blackman & Gollop crowned double champions

Another 19 records were shattered as Blackman and Gollop Primary upgraded on their boys title last year by capturing both the boys and girls titles in the Sunshine Cereals Ryan Brathwaite Zone of the 2025 Chefette Frosteez National Primary Schools Athletic Championship on Thursday.

Competing at the Usain Bolt Sports Complex, they retained their boys title after amassing 312 points ahead of BSL Wilkie Cumberbatch Warriors (264) and St. Catherines (112).

The girls, meanwhile, finished top of the standings on 271.50 points, dethroning Wilkie Cumberbatch who ended on 250.50 points while St. Mark’s secured the third spot with 114 points.

Blackman and Gollop’s Under-11 star Shakayla Benjamin-Morris and Gordon Greenidge’s Under-13 standout Amira Mayers shared the victrix ludorum title, both athletes finishing on a perfect 30 points.

Benjamin-Morris started off her campaign in the 300m, getting away quickly in the first 100m and powering down the homestretch to a zonal record time of 47.97 seconds.

She then handled the business in the 100m with a swift 14.71 seconds clocking, to add a second gold to her collection, before leaving rivals in her wake with a time of 30.73 seconds to win the 200m.

Mayers led the line for Gordon Greenidge, attacking the first 300m of the 400m fiercely and narrowly missing out on the zonal record, finishing in one minute, 08:46 seconds. She followed up in the 100m, pulling away from the field after the 50m mark with a burst of speed to clock 14.20 seconds at the finish.

Her final individual race was the 200m and she made light work of her rivals as well, bolting through the curve and down the homestretch to a time of 30.16 seconds.

The victor ludorum title was also shared between two star athletes, Blackman and Gollop’s Under-11 Jaden Callender and Wilkie Cumberbatch’s Under-13 Jelani Phillips.

Callender broke records in all of his individual races. In the 300m, he put his mark on the race in the first 100m, motoring off the curve to break his own zonal record with a new mark of 46.64 seconds.

He was yet again dominant in the 100m, commanding the race from the start to storm to the line in another zonal record of 13.74 seconds. In the 200m, Callender delivered the goods once more as he ate the curve up and collected his third zonal record with a clocking of 29.00 seconds.

Wilkie Cumberbatch’s Jelani Phillips was the main act in the Under-13 division with his performance in the 400m being the standout performance of the day. He started at full tilt and delivered a new zonal record of 1:00.05 seconds.

He then cracked a second zonal record when he captured the 100m in 13.45 seconds and he stamped his authority on the field in the 200m with a blistering hot time of 26.97 seconds to post his third zonal record.

While Blackman and Gollop’s title quest was led by Benjamin-Morris and Callender, they received great support. In the girls, Kaliyah Downes won the Under-9 division after accumulating 26 points by winning the 80m (13.10), 150m (25.68) and placing third in 100m (17.27).

Josiah Moore was key for the boys as he won the Under-9 division title, claiming victory in the 100m (16.04), placing second in the long jump (3.08m) and settling for third in the 80m (13.23).

Ajheri Beckles finished second overall on 16 points in the boys Under-11 division, backing up Callender’s record breaking performances well with silver in the 100m (14.05) and 200m (30.12).

Other impressive performances came from Ellerton’s Rakyja Forde-Leacock who won the girls Under-7 division with 20 points, taking home gold in the 50m (10.40) and tennis ball throw (9.40m).

Aiko Delort-Griffith of Wilkie Cumberbatch was also a division champion in the boys Under-7, victorious in the standing broad jump (1.30m) and picking up five points in the tennis ball throw and a point in the 50m.

The final zone action takes place tomorrow in the Rubis Andrea Blackett Zone where Good Shepherd Primary are the defending champions in the boys and girls.

(NGM)